Project Overview

Over the past decade large-scale astronomical surveys of the cosmos have grown rapidly, and the next generation of observatories and surveys are already in development and/or underway. One of these, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory's Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) will provide a massive data-set that provides insights into the nature of exotic astrophysical phenomena such as black holes, neutron stars and more. When Rubin/LSST comes online (currently scheduled for March 2025), it will scan the entire southern sky almost daily. Thus, it will provide us with a large, rich dataset to extract information on rare astrophysical events from the over 60 petabytes of data that will be collected over the next ten years. This PhD project will focus on one of the most pressing questions in modern astrophysics; namely how to delve through large data-sets to perform time-domain studies of astrophysical events.

Aims

Rubin Observatory will observe a large number of time domain optical events, such as black holes and neutron stars going into outburst, as well as luminous red novae. While Rubin is not currently online, a number of existing observatories such as the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) and and the All Sky Automated Survey for SuperNovae (ASAS-SN) have been collecting data for the last few years. This project aims to mine publicly-available data from these observatories for signatures of black holes using  state-of- the-art classification techniques. This will enable us both to better understand stellar remnants such as black holes, neutron stars, and white dwarfs, and to prepare us to leverage the upcoming generation of astronomical facilities such as the Vera Rubin Observatory to gain new insights into the population of these objects in our Galaxy.

Objectives

The main objective of this project is to gain a deeper understanding of how stars evolve and die, particularly in binary systems. To achieve this, the first goal will be to create a physically- motivated framework to search for stellar remnants in data from current large-survey observatories such as the ZTF or ASAS-SN, based on our current understanding of observational signatures. These will be followed up using multiwavelength facilities around the world, to confirm their nature. The results will be folded in with existing data to help characterize the population of these objects in the Milky Way.

Significance 

The emergence of next-generation astronomical observatories such as the Vera Rubin Observatory and the Square Kilometre Array will open the door to a new era of astronomical research. However, as we enter the era of data-intensive astronomy, we need effective techniques to be implemented at scale to search and analyze data from these observatories. This is doubly important for cutting-edge research on elusive objects such as black holes and neutron stars.

The project will be hosted at CIRA. CIRA is the Curtin University node of the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR), a joint venture with the University of Western Australia supported by the Western Australian State government. As such the successful candidate will be in a vibrant research environment with over 200 staff and students across the two ICRAR nodes working on a wide range of science, engineering and high- performance computing in the fields of radio astronomy, statistics and data science. 

The supervisory team of this project are involved in the approved ARC LIEF grant which has guaranteed us access to data from the Vera Rubin Observatory and the LSST survey. 

Through ICRAR, CIRA is working to further Australia’s contribution to the international Square Kilometre Array (SKA) Observatory. The key science question being addressed in this PhD is closely linked to both the core scientific activities of CIRA and ICRAR and the SKA key science goals (such as study of black holes and development of techniques for data intensive astronomy). 

On top of the standard University support for computing and travel, additional resources from ICRAR for these activities may be available if required. In particular, we typically send PhD students to the annual scientific meeting of the Astronomical Society of Australia to present their work, participate in training opportunities, and to network with their peers and more senior astronomers from around Australia.

• Future Students

• Faculty of Science & Engineering
  • Science courses
  • Engineering courses

• Higher Degree by Research

• Australian Citizen
• Australian Permanent Resident
• New Zealand Citizen
• Permanent Humanitarian Visa
• International Student

• Merit Based

The annual scholarship package, covering both stipend and tuition fees, amounts to approximately $70,000 per year.

In 2024, the RTP stipend scholarship offers $35,000 per annum for a duration of up to three years. Exceptional progress and adherence to timelines may qualify students for a six-month completion scholarship.

Selection for these scholarships involves a competitive process, with shortlisted applicants notified of outcomes by November 2024.

1

All applicable HDR courses.

This opportunity is open to students with any science-oriented undergraduate background. Students with a background in physics/astronomy, mathematics/statistics, computer science, or data science are particularly encouraged to apply.

 

Please send your CV, academic transcripts and brief rationale why you want to join this research project via the HDR expression of interest form to the project lead researcher, listed below. 

You must be enrolled in a Higher Degree by Research Course at Curtin University by March 2025.

Project Lead: Professor Arash Bahramian